Conventionally, an ink jet printer that jets fine ink droplets from nozzles to such a recording medium as a sheet to perform recording is well known. Such an apparatus is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H10-305591 and H10-202900. An ordinary ink jet printer is provided with a printing head that has nozzles and an ink cartridge(s) for supplying ink(s) to the printing head. Many types of an apparatus that is mainly provided for personal use, include an ink cartridge mounted on a carriage together with a head. On the other hand, many types of an apparatus for business use are constituted so as to mount an ink cartridge and a head (and a carriage) on an apparatus main unit independently of each other. In the apparatuses of both the types, when ink within a cartridge is consumed, the cartridge is detached from a cartridge mounting portion and is replaced with a new one. Some types of the apparatus for personal use have an ink cartridge and a head integrated with each other and the cartridge is replaced together with the head when the ink is consumed.
As reference literatures of an ink cartridge used in such an ink jet printer, there are disclosures in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. S60-32671 and H4-347653.
In the types for business use, a capacity of an ink cartridge is larger than that for personal use. Recently, especially, the ink cartridge capacity is increasing so as to meet increase in ink consumption due to speeding-up of printings.
In the ink jet printer, however, since a carriage on which a head is mounted, conducts recording while moving above a sheet leftward and rightward (in a widthwise direction of a sheet), it is necessary to provide a space which allows movement of the carriage therein above a sheet threading region. Accordingly, in a type that an ink cartridge is mounted on an apparatus main unit, since it is difficult to receive an ink cartridge within a widthwise size of a sheet threading (because the height of the apparatus is increased), the ink cartridge is mounted outside the sheet threading width. In the apparatuses described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H10-305591 and H10-202900, an ink cartridge is disposed outside the sheet threading width.
However, when an ink cartridge is disposed outside a sheet threading width, the apparatus width increases. Recently, the term “ink jet printer” ordinarily indicates “a color printer”, whose apparatus width is increased due to mounting of (four or more) ink cartridges for four or more colors or increase in capacity of each cartridge.
In order to solve the problem about increase in apparatus width, thinning of a cartridge is proposed. When a plurality of thin type ink cartridges are arranged side by side, unless a large interval is secured between adjacent cartridges, it is difficult to attach/detach (especially, detach) each cartridge. However, when the interval is too large, such a problem arises that the apparatus width increases.
In order to facilitate taking-out of a thin type cartridge, it is considered to adopt a so-called pop-up mechanism in which a cartridge is moved to a taking-out position allowing easy grasping thereof by a lever operation, a notch portion pushing, or the like. However, the mechanism causes such a problem as complication of a structure thereof, increase in weight and size, and increase in cost.
Even in one cartridge, the cartridge is increased in a vertical or (and) a front and rear (depth direction) size corresponding to a thinned amount thereof, so that there is also a problem that it is difficult to handle (grasp or hold) such a cartridge by those with small hands.
In an apparatus where attaching/detaching of a cartridge is performed in a horizontal direction (in a front and rear direction of the apparatus), there is a problem that, when an installation place for the apparatus is low, it is difficult to attach/detach the cartridge. Alternatively, in an apparatus where attaching/detaching of a cartridge is performed in a vertical direction, there is a problem that, when an installation place of the apparatus is high, it is difficult to attach/detach the cartridge. Attachability/detachability of a cartridge is also related to thinning of the cartridge. For example, when holding style of the cartridge is restricted due to thinning thereof, the attachability/detachability of the cartridge in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction may deteriorate due to the holding style of the cartridge.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems in the ink jet printer and the ink cartridge therefor, and to provide an ink cartridge that is easily handled and easily attached to/detached from an apparatus without enlarging the apparatus width.